Challenge to Change the World

Challenge to Change the World

The Grand Finale of the Drawing Board Challenge, a world-changing initiative for 15 year olds, is all set for Tuesday night.

The Drawing Board Challenge’s creators, Madeline King (26) and Emily Mabin Sutton (23), came up with the idea while thinking about what they would’ve liked to learn in school.

“We were really struck by New Zealand’s teen suicide rate, and how unprepared and powerless teenagers are in the face of these overwhelming issues like global warming.”

Both savvy entrepreneurs in the tech and business space, Emily and Madeline decided to create something that would show teens that they could have an impact.

“We wanted to share the benefits of entrepreneurial thinking, you know, going out and testing an idea, making a sustainable plan, and apply these to socially conscious projects.”

While the Drawing Board Challenge teaches market research and resilience to failure, it also makes sure students get elbow-deep in code and learn how to build a basic website. They say the effects of this could lead to benefits for all of New Zealand.

“We’re attracting a huge group of students that are underrepresented in the innovation sectors, who wouldn’t otherwise be into these ideas, and through the curriculum we’re encouraging them to explore tech and business. Imagine how creative we could be if these students entered our tech export sector 5 or 10 years down the line.”

They say the results have surprised even them.

“The students have really taken to it. We’re overwhelmed. They’re running around right now, using the things we taught them to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean and make small-scale impacts to support cancer research. It’s incredibly impressive.”

The pilot programme has been launched at Samuel Marsden Collegiate with 20 15 year old girls working in teams on their own project ideas. Teams will go head to head on Tuesday night at the Grand Finale to determine who is the winner of the Challenge. Winners will be chosen based on the amount of impact they’ve already had in their community, and the potential for the idea to scale.

Madeline and Emily are looking forward to the results.

“We’re really confident that most of these ideas could turn into nationwide initiatives. Watch out Aotearoa!!”

The Drawing Board Challenge received funding for its pilot from the Ministry of Youth Development. For more information check outwww.drawingboardchallenge.com

ENDS

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